Pakistan restores bank accounts of Hafiz Saeed, his four top aides: Report
Islamabad: Pakistan has restored the bank accounts of the outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his four top aides, a media report said on Sunday.
Saeed, an UN-designated terrorist whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty on, was arrested on July 17 last year in the terror financing cases. He was sentenced to 11 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in February this year in two terror financing cases. He is lodged at the Lahore's high-security Kot Lakhpat jail.
Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, Haji M Ashraf, Yahya Mujahid, and Zafar Iqbal - all on the UN Security Council's terrorist list were the other members of the JuD and Lashkar-e-Taiba who got their bank accounts restored, The News reported.
They are currently facing sentences ranging from 1 to 5 years in Lahore jail for terror financing cases filed against them by the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the paper said.
"The restoration of bank accounts has taken place following formal approval of the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council, the paper said.
Citing sources, the paper said that the JuD leaders had appealed the United Nations for restoring their bank accounts that they could run their family affairs.
"Initially we did not want to file an appeal but we were advised to file it as it was difficult for our leaders to run their affairs," a senior JuD leader was quoted as saying by the paper.
These leaders in their request to the government of Pakistan had also mentioned their financial income and sources of earning. The same was forwarded to the UNSC along with their bank account numbers and other related details, it added.
Saeed-led JuD is the front organization for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. He was listed under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
His bank accounts were frozen by the Pakistani government complying with the UNSC resolution.
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Nashik court sends ‘godman’ Kharat to 3-day police custody in 7th sexual exploitation case
Nashik (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik has remanded self-styled astrologer-cum-godman Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 29 in the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
Kharat, a former Merchant Navy officer arrested on March 18, is accused of sexually exploiting several women and indulging in large-scale financial fraud by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic.
In the seventh case, Kharat sexually exploited a married woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems.
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The accused allegedly gave the woman something to drink, sexually assaulted her while her husband sat outside his office and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against Kharat in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts, on Sunday filed a request application in the court demanding his custody in the seventh case.
Kharat was produced in court for a virtual hearing in the seventh case on Monday.
The prosecution demanded six-day police custody for Kharat, citing the discovery of a locker in Kharat's house during the investigation, from which the police recovered two blank cheques and other documents, all of which have to be probed.
The court agreed to the prosecution's demand and remanded Kharat to three-day police custody till April 29 in the case.
Kharat has been at the centre of a political firestorm, as he was well-connected, and photographs of him with political leaders and other important members of society have been surfacing in mainstream and social media since his arrest.
